If it is "cost" that truly concerns us, why do we focus so much attention on "benefit fraud" or even welfare, which relatively have an invisible economic impact? Is our concern genuine, or is it more an issue of bitterness?

The immigration Rubicon is in front of us. The question is whether the prime minister is ready to cross it. On the other side lies controlling EU migration by quotas. What's left is the option of controlling migration by ending in work and out of work benefits. If the Prime Minister chooses quotas he will have crossed an irreversible line.

Today the government launched its most recent benefit fraud campaign. They've had these before and it's unclear what effect they had. Did they result in more calls to the benefit fraud hotline? Does more calls mean more detection of fraud, or more unnecessary fraud investigations?

Anyone who examines the facts knows that benefit fraud is a minor problem. Tax fraud is 15 times bigger, unclaimed benefits 17 times bigger, benefit cuts are 22 times bigger and tax evasion is 30 to 70 times bigger. In the context of our national finances benefit fraud is near irrelevant...

Fraud is always a problem. Lying and cheating is wrong and society should certainly discourage it. But benefit fraud - people lying and cheating in order to increase the size of their benefits - is not a big problem. There are many problems which are much bigger, in particular fraud by government.

The current government's presentation of its policies to tackle a massive public debt is an object lesson in the effective use of the Big Lie. Pathologically opposed to any measures which might unduly affect the "wealth-creating potential" of the better-off, they are nevertheless determined to make massive reductions in public expenditure, and have targeted the Welfare Budget as a potential source of great savings.